The Hand
by Kinetically Charmed
Summary: Gambit, Pyro, and Logan are stranded in an alternate dimension, relying on an unwillingly helpful stripper to get home, while they try to evade both the law and a dealer known as "The Hand". -Romy... eventually -Rogan... ish -Ryro... ahh, kind of. -On semi permanent hiatus. I don't hear anyone complaining...
1. Prologue, Idle Hands

_A/N- I do not own Marvel or their characters - or any of their likeness- so please do not sue. I am, however, Batman. But that's a totally different story. Classed as a "Romy/Rogan/Ryro" with very loose definitions. Perhaps mostly Romy... and not as much Ryro... _

**_The Hand_**

**_Prologue._**

His heart pounded in his ears as he attempted to asses the situation, the smell of thick smoke and charred building assaulted his nostrils with every breath. Never before had he found himself in such a circumstance, and that was saying a lot for a man of experience such as himself. If he hadn't lived the past few days out and seen it with his own mutated eyes, he'd have passed it all off as nothing more than a bogus ghost story. Possibly an episode of Twilight Zone. But never reality. And now as he stared into her green eyes watching her try to hide the fear that flashed across her face in a very characteristic act of forced bravery, time stood still just long enough for him to evaluate whether or not this was in fact just one long, elaborate dream. The entire scene before him was so completely surreal, he didn't even know what to do.

His eyes shifted, and he stared at the person pointing a gun directly at her, the look on that face prompting the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end, sending a cascade of icy shivers down his spine. And he stood there, dumbfounded, looking from one face to the other. With no clue as to what to do.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, yanking him backwards roughly, vaguely acknowledging Logan's gruff voice telling him it was time to go.

It was the sound of the gunshot that snapped him out of his stupor, his eyes blinded by the glittering blue light emitted from the stupid contraption that got them into this mess in the first place.

They should never have even been here to begin with.

**_Idle Hands_**

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, the kind Remy enjoyed spending with a deck of cards out in the field behind the institute, practicing his aim and scoping out the beautiful mutant ladies as they took a dip in the outdoor pool. And that's exactly what he would have been doing if they hadn't all been summoned to sub-basement for some emergency meeting. He leaned against the windowsill and looked out longingly at the perfect spot in the shade of a big, leafy maple tree. The sooner they all got this meeting over with, the sooner he could claim his territory.

"Come on..." He grumbled to the closed door behind him, he raised his voice slightly to voice his discord. "It's a meeting, not d'prom!"

The wooden door swung open with enough force to smack against the doorstop and Pyro stepped out into the hall with a frown.

"Alright then, let's get this crap ovah with." He breezed by Remy without stopping and began stalking down the hall with his hands shoved in his pockets and a pout fixed on his face. Remy rolled his eyes and fell into step behind Pyro.

The two of them and Colossus had joined up with the X-men after Mags disappeared nearly two years ago. Colossus had jumped in feet first, being instantly accepted and fitting in nicely from the start. Pyro was the polar opposite, basically  
treating the place like a means to an end. He participated as a fully functional member of the X-men willingly enough, but the formality of it all was far too overwhelming for him. Remy was somewhere in the middle. He wasn't exactly thrilled about the meetings, but the training was pretty fun. He wasn't complaining. If these guys were willing to put up with him and give him a place to stay, it was reason enough for him to participate.

"Hey... thanks for waitin'..." Rogue gave his left bicep a firm punch as she scurried up along side him. She narrowed her heavily made up eyes when he chuckled at her attempt at pain.

"Don' take it personally Roguey," He shrugged casually with his hands in his pockets "y'know I'm built like a house."

She simply rolled her eyes as she adjusted the seam on one of her elbow length, black satin gloves.

And then of course, there was Rogue. She'd been the one to convince him to quit goofing around and prove all his nay-sayers wrong. For some reason, she believed in him. And oddly enough, she made him believe in himself too.

"Ah could clobber you if ah wanted to, but ah don't feel like gettin' blood on mah new shirt." She said with a nonchalant shrug.

He laughed at her simple threat, coaxing out the tiniest of smiles from her. "So we still on for our poker game tonight? Pyro's all excited... thinks it'll be easy t'win some cash off a chick."

"As much as ah'd love to kick his ass an' rub it in, unfotunately ah can't make it."

Remy frowned. "Why not?"

"It's nothin'." She tossed her hand in the air with a quick head shake. "Just... it's nothin'."

A sly grin formed on Remy's face as he inspected her expression. "You ain' blushin' chere... are you? Where you goin'... somewhere embarrassing? Strip club?"

Rogue's face twisted up into a dramatic show of disgust.

"Jus' make sure you bring plenty a'singles."

She burst out laughing and gave him a swat "Oh mah sweet lord Cajun. You'd never catch me in one a'those places. Not in this lifetime. Ah wouldn't know what ta do with myself."

He grinned, draping a friendly arm around her shoulders. "Well, after fillin' out all the appropriate paperwork, one would assume dat you just hop up on d'stage an' get t'work..."

Rogue snorted. "Wouldn't you just love that. Then you'd make me introduce you to all mah colleagues."

Remy laughed and squeezed her gently. "Well, when you're right, you're right."  
_**  
XXXX**_

The two walked through the stainless steel automatic doors that lead to the sub-basement conference room a few seconds after Pyro, moving to the round table filled with their teammates all waiting for them. Rogue raised her eyebrows and  
muttered something inaudible under the sharp gaze from their team leader, Logan.

"I heard that." He grunted as she meandered around the table to a free spot between Kitty and Jean. Remy sat across from her next to Pyro. No sooner than his butt hit the hard metal chair, did Professor Xavier grin and fold his hands.

"Thank you all for coming on short notice, this won't take long at all."

Pyro heaved a sigh and slouched down in his chair, crossing his arms firmly over his chest.

"Wait Professor." Kitty furrowed her brow as she glanced around the room. "Forge isn't here."

"Forge has requested to sit this meeting out in the interest of his most recent project."

"Wish I'd thoughta that..." Pyro muttered to Remy who simply smiled in response, earning both of them a glower from Logan across the table.

"That ol' time machine thing again?" Rogue raised an eyebrow doubtfully and gave Kitty a wordless sidelong glance. "He's been workin' on that hunk a'metal for a year."

"Yes well, it seems he's had a breakthrough. And since he's requested to acompany the team on this next mission, he wanted as much time as he could get before leaving to tie up any loose ends regarding his research."

Remy leaned back in his chair as he listened to Professor Xavier begin his information session. Hopefully, the good Professor wasn't exaggerating when he said he'd keep it short. He could just hear that sweet maple tree calling out his name all the way to him in the the sub-basement. His gaze fell on the beauty next to Rogue, her red hair falling gently around her shoulders. She nodded as she scribbled something down hastily on a notepad she'd brought with her to the meeting.  
Summers was one lucky bastard. If they were still on opposing teams, he'd certainly have fun seeing how long it would take to break her with his wile charms. He noticed Rogue smirking at him through his peripheral vision. She shook her head and silently called him a creep, reading his dirty thoughts with nothing more than pure experience. She knew him far too well.

Remy wagged his eyebrows and turned his attention back to Jean with an approving nod just as Jean's head snapped up. She narrowed her eyes at him, a furious blush breaking out over her ivory cheeks, prompting Rogue to clap a gloved hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing as she quickly turned her attention back to Storm, who was now selecting a team for an abrupt mission.

"Jean, are you taking this down?" Storm crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow as Jean turned to face the ivory haired woman at the head of the round table. "You seem a little distracted."

"Of course!" Jean nodded, her blush deepening slightly as she averted her eyes back down to her note pad.

From the bits and pieces Remy had caught through his daydreaming about a naughty little Jean Grey, it seemed there was a mutant in Texas who'd shown some interest in joining the institute. Why they couldn't just hop on a train or an  
airplane and get here like everyone else did was beyond him. Some people had a tendency to be a tad dramatic.

Storm had listed off the four mutants who would be traveling down south along with her and the Professor; Forge, McCoy, Jean and Scott. Part of him kind of wished he'd been selected to go, and not because the sublime Jean Grey would be there.

Truthfully, it was because he wanted to see for himself if everything really was bigger in Texas, and if this included the rack size of sexy cowgirls. Having Jean there would have just been an additional bonus.

With a resigned sigh, he pulled out his deck of cards and discreetly shuffled them under the table, waiting for the meeting to come to a close.

After another five minutes of discussing team strategies and bickering over danger room training times and sparring partners, the meeting ended. Remy caught up with Rogue, tugging on her elbow gently until she turned around.

"Y'know, you sure are lucky. If Jean hadn't been called t'zip off across America suddenly, she'd have whooped you're sorry Cajun ass all the back down to the Bayou." She said with a cocked eyebrow before a smirk suddenly spread across her plum tinted lips and her expression darkened. "Whatever you were thinkin' about there seemed pretty bad. She went redder than a sunburned tomato."

Remy grinned silently before Rogue gave him a poke. "Alright, knock it off now."

"What... you brought it up." He shrugged. "Anyways, dis... thing yo'doin' tonight. Y'never said what it was."

A chuckle from Rogue's left drew his attention to Kitty, who had pressed her hand against her mouth and tucked her chin to her chest.

"More like, 'who'." Kitty snickered, garnering a sharp glance from Rogue.

"It's... kind of a date."

Remy frowned. "What does dat mean... kind of?"

She let out a sharp breath and rolled her eyes. "It's a date."

"With who?"

"Just this guy ah met... his name's Joseph." She said with a small smile. "He's really nice."

Remy's face twisted with recognition. "Joseph? D' moron dat keeps comin' around t'see d'Professor... too wimpy to join, too lost t'stay away..."

"He's not wimpy, he's checkin' out his options."

He eyed her with a frown "I guess _so_..."

"An' what is that supposed t'mean?"

Remy stammered for a moment before throwing a hand up in the air "D'guy's got white hair!"

"Ah happen t'find that very attractive!"

"Geeze Remy," Kitty's eyebrows perked up and she glanced at Rogue. "Jealous much?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line and let out a slow breath. "Not jealous. Concerned."

"This is exactly why ah didn't tell you." Rogue rolled her eyes and shook her head. "There's nothin' to be concerned about. Alright? Ah'm a big girl, perfectly capable of goin' on a date. You'll be fine with Pyro for the evenin' playin' poker." She stopped suddenly and raised a finger.

"Just one thing ah forgot. Y'all are gunna have t'find another place t'play."

"Why? You ain' gunna be dere anyways." He frowned, shoving his hands deep in his coat pockets.

"Well, not right away. But ah might be back later..." She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "... Accompanied...?"

His face twisted up as he stared at her. "What for? So you can sit dere an' stare at each other?"

Kitty gave him a smack on the arm along with her version of 'the look'.

Remy rubbed a hand against his forehead with his eyes squeezed shut and let out a tiny groan. "'Course. I'll take care of it."

A quick ride in the elevator brought them to the main floor, where Storm was busy leaving diligent instructions with Jamie on caring for her precious plants while she was away.

Logan gave the three a nod of acknowledgment before uttering a low chuckle "He'll only volunteer to do that once."

"We all learn the hard way sooner or later." Rogue added with a smile, her eyes wandering back over to Storm who was now explaining her instructions that she'd written out in exact detail, and reminding the 14 year old that this was 'A great responsability' as she phrased it. The elevator dinged behind them and Pyro stepped out, griping at Remy for not waiting for him.

Remy frowned at Pyro and shook his head. "You want someone to escort you around, get a boyfriend."

Both Kitty and Rogue laughed.

"What evah happened ta 'bro's before hoe's'?" Pyro put his hands on his hips and glared at Rogue. "That's right skunk head, I'm lookin' at you."

Rogue took a step forward, held back only by the strength of Kitty's hands as Logan let out an irritated sigh.

"You kids got plans for the evening I hope." He grunted. "Get ya out of my hair for a few hours."

Kitty nodded enthusiastically with a wide grin once Rogue had stepped back from her attempt on Pyro's life. "The girls are having a Meg Ryan marathon in the rec room tonight. We're starting with Sleepless in Seattle, then doing City of Angles and You've Got Mail, and then winding it all up with Kate and Leopold. It's gunna be like, so much fun."

"Yeah, I bet." Logan looked over at Rogue with a glint of amusement in his eye "You too?"

"It's tempting, but no."

"She's got a date." Kitty smirked.

Logan's eyebrows perked up and he crossed his arms. "A date?"

"Yeah." Remy nodded at Logan. "Ask her who he is."

"Who is he?"

Rogue narrowed her eyes at Remy before looking back to Logan with a sigh. "Uh... Joseph."

Logan eyed Rogue for a moment, looking over to Remy with a frown. "That white haired kid who's always comin' to talk to Chuck?"

"Am I the only one who thinks that bloke looks like Mags?"

Kitty shot Pyro a glare. "Yes. You are."

"Mmhmm. I don't trust him." Remy answered Logan before turning to Rogue. "D'guy's got white hair, Rogue. I think he may be albino."

"Is that so?" Storm came to a stop next to Logan, arms folded and a less-than-impressed expression gracing her delicate features.

Remy blinked at her, his mind racing to find the right thing to say that would suavely get him out of the hole he'd just dug himself. "Well on you Stormy, of course... I mean..." He fumbled a bit more before offering her a hand-caught-in-the-  
cookie-jar kind of smile and lifting his hands, palm up with a shrug. "You make it look good?"

Rogue rolled her eyes "Smooth."

"What's an albino?" Jamie knit his brow, looking from face to face as he waited an explanation.

Kitty sighed. "It's a person with pale skin and hair, sometimes pinkish eyes, and visual abnormalities resulting from a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin." She rolled her eyes at Remy and shook her head. "And he is _not_ an albino."

Jamie's eyes widened and he stared at Rogue. "Like a vampire? Why would you date a vampire?"

"Maybe, because..." She turned her head slowly to look at Jamie with an eerie twinkle in her eye. "_I'm _a vampire..."

She jerked towards him suddenly, causing him to instinctively flinch away.

"Well that'd sure explain a lot." Pyro muttered.

Storm laughed lightly, placing a calming hand on Jamie's shoulder.

"Alright Stripes, stop scarin' the kid."

Kitty threw her hands up in the air and glared at Jamie. "He's _not_ a vampire," she aimed her glare over to Remy. "And he's _not _albino." She grabbed Rogue's gloved hand and tugged her towards the stairs. "We need to go get ready. We like,  
totally don't have time for these imbeciles."


	2. Royal Flush

**_Royal Flush._**

"Ah don't know about this one guys..." Rogue crossed her arms as she dragged her eyes across the space that Pyro had turned into a hidden poker hole. "Forge gets mighty weird when people even look at his workspace, an' you set a poker table up on it."

Pyro waved her concern off with a simple flip of the wrist. "He's not even here. We have no interest in playin' with his equipment anyways."

Kitty's slow laughter stopped the conversation, turning everyone's attention to her.

"That's what she said." Her crude joke was met with total silence, making her shrug defensively. "What! As if I'm the only one who was thinking it..."

"What Pyro is trying to say, is dat Forge won't even know we were here." Remy offered as he set up the poker table in the centre of the room.

"An' what about that." Rogue pointed to the large contraption that clearly was Forge's pride and joy. Standing well over eight feet tall in the corner of the room, blinking lights and all, with a digital clock display just above what could only be  
described as the doorway. It actually kind of looked like a giant coffee machine without the pot. "If y'all even touch the damn thing, y'know he's gunna find out."

Pyro fluffed a white sheet out and draped it over the top half of the machine, effectively covering only a quarter of it's body.

"Got it covered."

Rogue blinked at him before giving her head a shake. "Whatever. Have fun guys."

"Wait." He held out a hand and looked her over. "Is dat what yo'wearin'?"

"Yes." She crossed her arms, covered only by her elbow length gloves. "Why?"

He cocked his head and looked her over again. The black dress she wore ended just above her knee and hugged her body around every curve all the way up to the gentle dip of the neckline that accentuated her... 'chestular' region.

"Showin' off quite a bit a'skin, hein?" He raised a disapproving eyebrow and Rogue smiled.

"Logan already gave his approval Swamp Rat."

"I guess it's fine." He shrugged, looking down at her dainty black heels. "Shoes ain't practical though."

Kitty laughed. "They're not supposed to be!"

Rogue snorted and shook her head. "Just... try to stay outta trouble tonight. Alright?"

Remy gave her a devilish grin as he shuffled a deck of cards idly. "I always do."

Pyro waited for the two girls to leave before he tugged the sheet away with a childish grin. "Look! It's got a clock an' everything! I wonder if it works yet."

Remy grunted without looking up as he set the chips up on the table. "Thought y'weren't gunna play with it."

"C'mon, y'can't tell me y'not the slightest bit intrested?"

"Yes. I can." Remy looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. "Cover dat thing back up. D'others will be here any minute."

"Y'mean ta tell me that you wouldn't wanna see what you'll be doin' in five years? Or... _who_ you'll be doin' in five years?"

"Long as dey look like dey do now. Y'only get better with age."

"Yeah right. Let's ask ol' Chuck how he's doin' in that department." Pyro fidgeted with the buttons on the machine silently for a minute before tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"Huh. That's odd." John's brow creased as he stared at the giant, pot-less coffee maker. "The time's wrong. This thing 'ere says it's only 7:42. You'd think he'd have the time set right on a time machine." He glanced over his shoulder to  
Remy who was still not paying any attention. "Bet that's why he can't get the thing ta work."

"Yeah. I bet."

Rather than order he cover it up again, Remy decided it was best just to ignore Pyro. By the time the others had joined them, he'd have lost intrest in the 'time machine deal-y', as he so eloquently phrased it, and was ready to focus on  
gambling.

"Alright." Remy smiled, clamping a cigar between his teeth. "Seven card stud, deuces wild. All in." He announced as he flicked the cards out to their respective players. Bobby slid the hand towards himself, sneaking a peek at the cards hidden faces before rolling his eyes.

"Zhat is not a very good poker face." Kurt informed him with a laugh, which caused Bobby to scowl and hug his cards to his chest protectively.

"Uh," Pyro held up a finger with his eyebrows pointed. "I think ya mean; it's not a very good _puh puh poker _face."

"Maybe I meant to do that!"

Pyro snorted and grabbed a handful of barbecue chips as he proceeded to teach Bobby about the art of the poker face, chomping away loudly and licking his fingers with gratuitous slurps.

"Wait..." Bobby frowned at Remy, eying his long sleeved trench coat. "You're not wearing your coat, are you? How do we know you're not gunna cheat? Hide something up your sleeve?"

"Guess y'don't."

Something moved in the doorway and caught Remy's attention, a smile dancing past the cigar between his lips and he uttered a low chuckle.

"Did y'miss me chere?"

"Nope."

The deep tenor of the voice caused everyone's head to snap around to its owner like four deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming Mack truck.

Logan stood, arms crossed, frowning in the doorway. His eyes stopped on Remy and his eyes darkened.

"That better not be one a'mine."

Remy pulled the cigar from his mouth and smiled innocently.

A low growl began to grow from Logan's throat and Pyro stood up, shoving the bowl of chips towards him. "Chip? Betcha can't eat just one..."

Logan's eyes flicked over to the grinning idiot and his growl slowly died, snatching the bowl of chips away from him.

"Geeze." Pyro's eyes widened dramatically. "An' he wonders why we don't invite 'im anywhere."

"How did you find us?" Kurt managed to find the courage to ask.

"Einstein here seems to have forgotten about my sense of smell." He looked over at Remy who did a mental head smack. Duh. Cigar.

"Well since y'found us, y'might as well join us, non?"

Logan pressed his lips into a tight line as he looked from face to face, inspecting the competition before shrugging. "Sure. It'll be like takin' candy from a baby."

"An' who hasn't wanted ta do that! Am I right?" Pyro pulled up a chair for Logan, seating him square in front of the giant coffee maker before returning to his own seat.

Logan frowned as he glanced at the machine on his way over to the seat. "Huh, that's weird."

Pyro shot Remy a smug look "The time's wrong. I noticed too."

"No." He sat down keeping his eyes glued to the scantily covered contraption. "It's whining."

"What do you mean?" Bobby furrowed his brow, pulling his gaze away from the cards in his hand.

"I can hear it whining or somethin'." He turned his back to it to face the rest of them. "Like it's tryin' to do something." He shrugged. "Alright, deal me in."

Remy frowned at the machine and tipped his head to the side. "I hear it too." He shot a glare to Pyro. "Y'didn't touch it did you?"

Pyro raised his hands, palms up with an innocent shrug.

Logan frowned at the two men "Whatever you two did, y'better fix it. If Forge comes back here an' finds his shit's been disturbed then he'll go whining to Chuck. An' then Chuck will come down on me. An' then I'll come down on you."

Remy pushed back from the table, his chair scraping across the cement floor. He stood up and squinted at the machine, inspecting the time display with an increasing frown.

"You changed d'time!"

"It was wrong!" Pyro jumped to his feet. "I was just tryin' ta help poor ol' Forge out!"

"Well it's still wrong." Logan stood up, hovering behind the two, jerking his head towards the clock on the wall. "That clock says it's 11:35." He tapped the display. "This thing says 9:50. Bet that's why he can't get it to work."

Pyro gave Remy another silent, smug look.

Remy frowned and shook his head. "Dis is none of our business, jus' leave it be."

"Well we gotta figure out how ta shut it off now." Pyro snapped condescendingly as he stepped inside the machine, where the over sized coffee pot should go, and skimmed over the buttons. "Red means stop right?"

"In theory, yes." Remy clenched his jaw. "But I don' think it's wise t'start pushin' random buttons."

"He's startin' ta push my buttons..." Logan grumbled.

"They aren't random buttons." Pyro scolded. "Red means stop!"

"Can't you just unplug it?" Bobby asked from his seat behind them.

"It's not plugged in, _Copernicus._" Pyro sneered over his shoulder.

"Vell it has to have a source of power? Batteries maybe?" Kurt offered.

"What the hell?" Logan looked at Kurt over his shoulder "You think it'd take a few triple A's maybe?" He spat sarcastically.

"I vas thinking more like D's but..."

Logan shoved Remy aside and stomped into the machine behind Pyro. "Lemme see..."

"Oh yeah." Remy crossed his arms disdainfully "Send Pépé Logan in t'figure it out."

"I can fix it real good." Logan said with a growl and a _shnick_ of his claws.

Pyro rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm sure Forge wouldn't notice _that..._"

"These are for you." He grabbed Pyro by the scruff of his shirt and glared at him threateningly. "If y'don't shut up an' move, bub."

Remy rolled his red eyes upwards and muttered something in French, stepping in to pry Wolverine off Pyro so he could beat the shit out of him himself.

"None a'this woulda happened if Forge knew how ta make an off switch!" Pyro protested an octive higher than his normal speaking voice. "Just lemme fix the time an' we can pretend we weren't even here."

Bobby cleared his throat. "Uh... guys?"

"You ain't touchin' the damn time! Just leave the thing alone and go sit down." Logan howled. "Gumbo, you too."

"Don't drag me into dis shit... he's d'one pokin' around at it."

"Guys..." Bobby spoke up a bit more.

"An' who's brilliant idea was it t'use this room for a secret poker game?" Logan glared dangerously.

"His!" Remy pointed at Pyro again.

"Didn't hear ya complainin' about it earlier mate!" Pyro snipped. "When ya were showin' it off to your _girlfriend_."

Remy scoffed. "She is not my _girlfriend,_John. She's a girl dat's my friend."

"You ain't gunna be able to have a girlfriend if he don't shut his goddamn trap!" Logan bellowed.

"Guys!" Bobby shouted. Wide-eyed and slack jawed as he stared at them.

"What's yer problem Popsicle?"

Kurt's expression mirrored Bobby's as he jumped to his feet, stammering for an answer.

Before he'd managed to form a coherent response, the entire coffee machine contraption was completely consumed by an electrical looking blue light.

The two young men squinted into the brilliant crackling light, and watched as the light and the crackling sound both intensified. There was a poof of wind and sound triggered from lord-knows-where, scattering all of the contents of the poker  
table around the room, and then silence.

Nothing.

Bobby lowered his hand from his eyes with a stupefied look on his face as he stared at the empty space the giant coffee machine had previously been standing.

Kurt found his voice first, looking at Bobby and setting his cards down on the table with a shaky hand. "I fold."

* * *

*Pépé - Grandpa _(I called my Grandpa "Pepe". I miss my Pepe.)_

_A/N- __Don't expect quick updates all the time on this baby... but I can never just post the first chapter all by it's lonesome. :)_

_R&R PLEASE! Because in the words of Michael Scott "Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like a compulsive need to be liked. Like my need to be praised."__  
_


	3. Facepalm

**_Facepalm_**

Remy gripped the edge of the giant coffee maker and braced himself. He wasn't sure what he was bracing himself for exactly, but he did it anyways. The electric glow had caught all three of them off guard amidst their squabble, and rather than duck for cover, they _all_ froze and braced themselves.

When the shock of light disappeared and the dust settled, Remy blinked his eyes a few times to help them adjust to the dark setting they'd just been thrust into. The first thing he noticed was the acrid smell. It stunk like smoke and burned up  
wood, among other things. The second thing he noticed was a small shaft of light in the upper right hand corner of the room. Hopefully the way out.

Logan was the first to speak. "You pushed the button, didn't you." he grumbled.

Pyro threw his hands up and shook his head in silent shock. "I... I-I didn't..." he started, the soft green glow from the time display on the machine illuminating his face enough for them to see. "I thought red meant stop."

Logan growled, grabbing John by his shirt collar again and jerking him close. "Keep yer damn hands in yer pockets from now on, or I'll cut 'em off. Got it?"

Pyro nodded obediently until Logan released his hold, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

"Where are we?" Remy squinted into the dark, struggling to see anything other than charred rubble with the light from the 'time display'.

"Well, we ain't in Kansas anymore Todo, I'll tell ya that much." Pyro smoothed the wrinkles caused by Logan's fist out of his shirt, coming to a stop next to Remy. "Y'think it worked?"

"We better get outta here." Logan jerked his thumb towards... wherever, before taking a step off the machine. "Wherever we are ain't stable and our less-than-quiet arrival sure as hell didn't help. It's comin' down."

Before anyone had a chance to argue with him, he grabbed both of them by the scruff of their necks and hauled them out, shoving through the scorched debris towards the sliver of moonlight shining in from above. The groaning behind them  
grew loud enough for John and Remy to hear, only urging them forward faster. The three of them crawled up debris towards the light, punching through the fallen building on top of them until they eventually reached the outside. Remy was  
out first, followed by John and Logan. As soon as Logan squeezed out of the tiny crawl space, the ground beneath them began to rumble and they heard a terrible crumbling crash as the room they'd just been in gave way.

They all stood in silence again, bathed in the pale moonlight and charred drywall as they stared at the sight before them. They were still at the mansion. Except it was burnt to a crisp and lay crumbled up on the ground. It didn't smell nearly as  
bad outside as it had inside. In fact, it didn't smell at all.

Logan squared his jaw as he kicked at some of the ashes of the school house beneath his foot. "This ain't fresh."

"John." Remy's head snapped around to look Pyro in the eye. "Did you set it?"

"I... might have..." he gulped. "But only for five years! I just wanted ta see what I'd be doin' in five years... swear ta God mate!"

A growl rumbled up into Logan's throat as he glared at Pyro. "You tellin' me we just took a trip through time?"

"Well I dunno, I thought that thing didn't work!" he fought back. "Besides, none of this woulda happened if you hadn't come traipsin' down to our poker game an' invited yourself in for a round!"

Remy rolled his eyes upwards at Pyro's lame ass argument, clenching his fingers tightly into fists to resist the urge to reach out and smack him himself.

"We're gunna have to get back in there." Logan said, his eyes practically boring a hole in the spot they'd just squeezed out of. If -however- his eyes could actually bore a hole in the spot, they probably wouldn't be in such a pickle. None of  
them would have ever thought the moment would come when they would actually wish that Summers had tagged along with them.

"By moonlight?" Remy flipped his hand up towards the sky with a frown. "You go in. Bring it out here."

Logan worked the muscles in his jaw and closed his eyes with a calming breath. "Then we'll wait for morning." he said through dangerously clenched teeth.

"Holy shit..." Pyro ran his hands through his hair. "What tha hell mate! We're in the friggin' future!" he began to pace and wring his hands "Crikey, I swear I didn't believe it'd work..."

Remy's shoulders slumped as he watched his friend in the beginning stages of a mental break down. "John..."

"No mate, I swear! I mean, I wanted it ta work... but Jeeeesus..." He threw his hands up in the air and Remy wasn't sure if he was actually calling out to Jesus or not.

"We could be trapped here." he gulped "Forever."

"We're not gunna be trapped here." Logan grumbled. "First thing tomorrow morning, we get back in there and get that thing to take us back home."

"An' if it don't work?" Pyro planted his hands on his hips, his eyes wide and wild looking. "A fuckin' house just fell on it! That kinda thing doesn't exactly bode well ya know... look how it turned out for the Wicked Witch of the East. An' she was  
a witch for crissake!"

Remy wanted to roll his eyes at Pyro's crazy claim, but despite his less-than-sane delivery, he did have a point. Unless that giant coffee machine was made of adimantium, it was highly likely that it would not be in any kind of working  
condition. Panic began to creep into the edges of Remy's mind and he squeezed his eyes shut to try to block it out.

What if Pyro was right? What if there was no way home at all?

He dropped his head into his hand and groaned.

"Look, there's no point in bitchin' about it right now." Logan crossed his arms and puffed his chest out as the voice of reason. "What'll it take t'get yer minds off of it until morning?"

Pyro moaned dramatically, dropping down to his knees as he absently sifted through the ashes. "Booze." He whimpered. "Lots of booze."

Remy helped John up to his feet as Logan set off towards the road. The entire sprawling mansion grounds looked unkempt and overgrown, and Remy couldn't help thinking of how poor Storm would react if she ever saw it looking this way.

The three made it to the dim-lit road to find that it wasn't in very good condition either. Streetlights had been shot out, pot holes dimpled the streets, an abandoned car sat at the curb gutted and stripped of everything that made it  
recognizable. Houses sat empty and boarded up, decorated with vulgar graffiti and the ones that were occupied were adorned with iron bars over each window. All that was missing here were the chalk drawn outlines marking where the bodies had been. This was not the Bayville they were used to. Not in the least.

"What d' hell happened here?" Remy frowned as they walked, finding it hard not to oogle at the train wreck town surrounding them.

"Don't look good, that's for damn sure." Logan grunted, ambling down the street towards the unmistakable sounds of the city. After a few minutes of walking, the unmistakable city sounds had become markedly louder and more distinguished. The whale of a siren, the thud of someones bass that was turned up far too loud, revving of motorcycle engines, laughter from partiers out past a reasonable time... the constant drone of a city that clearly never sleeps.

"C'mon," Logan urged the two on with a wave. "Harry's is just down this street."

Pyro leaned close to Remy and shrugged as he eyed a group of women passing by "Guess it's not all bad..."

Logan plowed through the throng of people that had congregated at the mouth of an alley, all looking far too high to have even noticed his intrusion.

"Hey!" One of them called out after the trio, giving Remy a firm shove after he'd passed by. "Watch where you're walking."

Remy turned to look the young man in the eye, ready to give him a piece of his mind when he froze.

This man looked familiar. Something wasn't right though...

"Sorry mon ami." He managed to stammer, still staring into his eyes. Summers. It was Scott Summers. Without his ruby quartz sunglasses?

He narrowed his brown eyes dangerously before spinning around to head down the alley. Before Remy had a chance to call out after him, another stranger had an arm around his shoulders in a friendly embrace.

"You may wanna put these on."

The man held out a pair of sunglasses to Remy with a friendly grin.

"The name's Jamie. You three look like you're new around here."

"Crikey!" John's eyes widened as he stared at the 19 year old version of little Jamie Madrox. "Jamie, you don't recognize us?"

He blinked at Pyro before a smooth smile eased across his lips. "Of course! How could I forget my number one customers! You three here to get some more? Looks like you ran out." He jerked his head towards Gambit who was now  
completely and utterly confused.

Logan growled. "Where the hell is Harry's. It used to be right there."

"The Lumberyard's there now." Jamie nodded towards the bright neon sign above the building where Harry's had once been home. "You gentlemen want to conduct some business, that's the place to do it."

"Business? Christ, I just want a drink. What the hell kind a' name is _The Lumberyard _for a bar anyways?" Pyro grumbled.

"No business. Just answers." Logan grunted to Jamie who seemed more than willing to oblige.

Jamie led the trio across the road to _The Lumberyard, _holding the door open for them with a grin. They all stepped in, instantly overtaken by the black walls and flashy purple lighting aimed at the centre stage, bouncing off the shiny brass poll staked at the end. Women danced on side stages, similar purple, blue and red lighting aimed at their glittery half naked bodies, writhing along to the sounds of the heavy, dirty bass.

"I've died. I'm dead. This is heaven and I'm dead." Pyro clung to Remy's trench coat sleeve in spite of his best efforts to shake him free. "I don't evah wanna leave now."

Jamie strode up to the hostess who led them all to a round booth in the corner of the club.

"Yeah, this is the ideal place to talk..." Logan grumbled, sliding into the booth with as much grace as a moose, followed by Remy and Pyro. Jamie sat across from with a wide, over-eager grin that reminded Remy of a used-car salesman.

"Alright, shoot." He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward to better hear their voices. "You wanna know about the business? You aren't cops, are you?"

"No." Logan grunted. "You don't recognize us. Why."

Jamie blinked at Logan, shifting in his seat for a moment before furrowing his brow. "I don't understand the question. You want to know why I don't know who you are?"

"Yeah pretty much." Pyro confirmed with a shrug. "An' what happened to the Mansion? That place is a bloody wreck!"

Jamie leaned even further towards them, his voice dropping to a barely audible sound. "Don't let anyone hear you talkin' about that place. You understand?"

"Why?" Logan narrowed his eyes, intent on hearing the answer only to be interrupted by the pretty little cocktail waitress in blue hot pants and matching sparkly bra.

"Hey Jamie, the usual?"

"You know it babe."

She smiled at the others with a hand on her hip."What can I get for you this evening gentlemen?"

Logan growled "A CAT scan."

Remy looked up at her and grinned, his eyes shielded by the darkness of his newly acquired shades. "He'll have a beer."

"And what'll you have?" She smiled playfully, showing off her perfect pearly whites.

"Think I'll have the same," He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "Desole chere, I didn't catch yo'name."

"It's Starlight."

"That's pretty. Suits you." His grin grew slightly, letting his hidden eyes do a slow once over.

She chuckled with a twinkle in her eye, turning her attention to Pyro who stared at her mystified.

"What can I get for you?"

"Your eyes..."

Starlight knit her brow, the grin still politely fixed on her ruby red lips "Excuse me?"

"Your eyes are beautiful. I've nevah seen eyes so green before..."

She pressed her lips together in a tight smile and nodded her thanks uncomfortably.

"They're like... two luminous green gummie bears."

She hummed uncomfortably, turning her attention to Jamie who shrugged.

"They're like..." Pyro continued, staring into her eyes. "two pools full of lime jello. I'm sorry doll, but will you marry me?"

Starlight let out a soft laugh and patted Pyro on the shoulder sympathetically. "You're the fourth person to ask tonight hon. Now what can I get for you?"

He shrugged, still in the trance induced by her eyes and waved blankly. "Surprise me luv."

"You got it." She winked before spinning around on her clear platform heel and disappearing into the crowd.

Once Starlight was out of sight, Jamie cleared his throat and leaned forward again. "They burned it down. Claimed that it was an accident... but we all know the truth. Mutant haters."

Remy frowned. "How long ago was dis?"

Jamie shrugged and looked out to the stage "Five years or something."

Logan and Remy exchanged stare.

"I swear ta God, that little Shiela is my soul mate." Pyro sighed as he stared off to where Starlight had disappeared.

"Back to the first question." Logan shut his eyes in an attempt to block Pyro out of his mind. "You don't recognize us?"

Jamie looked between Remy and Logan confused for a moment before tossing a resigned hand in the air. "Look guys, I got lots of customers. Don't take it personally." His eyes settled on Remy and he frowned. "You'd think I'd remember  
eyes like that though."

"She's like... an angel. Wish I knew some a'that french crap. I bet I could woo her with some french. All I know's _voulez-vous coucher avec moi_, an' Lord knows that's nevah worked for me."

"You really have no idea who we are?" Remy squinted at him from over his sunglasses. "Dey wipe your memory when dey kicked you out of d'mansion?"

Jamie shook his head slowly and lowered his voice to a nearly in-audible decible. "I never lived at that mansion." He shrugged. "You guys must have me mistaken for someone else." Logan squeezed his eyes shut again, scrubbing his hand  
over them with a groan.

"Where the hell's my beer?"

Remy vaguely noted the change in music and the DJ's voice booming through the speakers announcing the next act as his thoughts mimicked Logan's. This was just far too confusing to face sober.

He heard Pyro utter a low whistle before giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs. "Check out the stems on 'er!"

Remy impatiently looked up at Pyro who pointed to the centre stage. The lights had shifted to the black crush velvet curtain, and were now a deep red spotlight on a woman dressed in a black men's dress jacket and hair tucked up into a  
fedora. No skirt, just heels and long tanned legs.

Not bad.

Enough to momentarily distract him from the confusion. Not as good as alcohol though.

As if on cue, Starlight returned, drink tray in hand. She gave Remy a dazzling smile and set his beer down in front of him before moving to Logan and Jamie. Pyro's eyes had shifted back to the love of his life and he gave her a big smile as she  
set his drink down infront of him.

"What is it doll?"

She smirked. "It's a mojito." She shouted over the music.

"It's got leaves in it. And... a lime..." He frowned as he pulled the fruit off the rim of his glass.

"It's green. Like my eyes?"

Pyro's face lit up again and he nodded. "I bet it tastes great luv."

Starlight hummed with a polite smile and turned to leave.

Pyro lovingly watched her until she was out of sight, his eyes flicking over to the drink before him. "I can't drink this, what'll people think?" He frowned, holding the straw carefully as he inspected the fruity looking drink.

"I'm kind of confused as to why you think you know me." Jamie started after taking a swig of his beer, eyeing Logan carefully. "Where did you people say you were from again?"

"We're from here." Logan cleared his throat, massaging a temple with his free hand, his other hand wrapped tightly around his drink. "It's... a little hard to explain."

Pyro carefully took a sip from the straw, his eyebrows perking up as he nodded. "Actually it's pretty good!"

Remy looked over at him and smirked. "Nancy."

"Am not!" He pouted before continuing to suck on the straw. "I'm watchin' strippers, ain't I?"

"Dat's just yo' beard." Remy's smirk grew as he glanced up to the dancer on stage who had torn her dress jacket off revealing a white button up shirt. Pyro grunted, suckling on the straw as he watched the dancer spin around the poll with a  
hand on her hat to keep it in place before twirling to the side of the stage, letting some of the front row show their appreciation with singles.

Remy turned his attention back to Jamie, opening his mouth to attempt to assist Logan in a muddled explanation as to how they got 'here' when John started choking and sputtering, cutting him off before he began.

"What happened? You choke on a leaf?" Logan snorted as Remy gave the man a few swift swats to the back to 'help'.

Pyro simply pointed at the stage.

Remy and Logan followed Pyro's direction, shifting their gaze to the stage.

After a long silence, Logan squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shit."

* * *

_A/N- This chapter is dedicated to S2T. And to Demi Moore's character in the movie Striptease, whom I could not have written the strippy scenes without. Because I have never been to a strip club. _

_That's a shocker, I know._

_Anyways, thank you all very much for your reviews! Please keep 'em coming because the doctors told me that if I don't get enough reviews, I'll die. You wouldn't want me to die, would you? Don't answer that._


	4. Hang on to your hats

**Hang on to your hats**

At first Remy wasn't exactly sure what Pyro's problem was. Her entire body was bathed in the crimson light making the few tendrils of hair that cascaded down her back look un-naturally red. Her makeup was heavy and bright so that even the patrons in the back could fully appreciate it. The woman was sexy, of course she was. She was paid to be. The bills nestled between her skin and her stark white g-string were proof enough of that. It wasn't until she whipped her fedora into the crowd and flipped her wavy locks dramatically back and expertly twirled herself around the brass poll that he finally clued into what Pyro's problem was.

"Shit." Logan muttered before taking a long swig of his beer, and Remy couldn't help but silently agree as he stared at the woman on the stage.

"Nice right?" Jamie gave a cocky grin as he leaned back in the booth with an arm hooked along the back. "She's one of my clients."

The three men remained silent until Starlight stopped by to see if they needed a top up.

"You boys seem to be enjoying the show." She set a fresh beer down in front of Jamie with a smile. "Cherry's one of our top girls."

"Cherry?" Pyro looked up at Starlight. "Why do they call 'er that?"

She tipped her head to the side and cocked an eyebrow at Pyro, "Use your imagination hun."

Logan grumbled before taking another long swill of his beer.

Starlight looked to Remy with a frown, jerking her thumb towards Logan. "What's his problem?"

"Dere's a list." He gave her a tight smile before leaning in towards her slightly. "Any way we could meet her?"

She placed a hand on her hip and tucked the tray under her arm. "Cherry doesn't do the 'back room' thing if that's what you mean."

"We just wanna talk to her luv." Pyro looked up at Starlight, putting on his best puppy dog face. "Only talkin'. I swear."

"Tell her they're with me." Jamie winked. She let out a breath, smoothing a hand along her slicked back chestnut hair.

"I'll see what I can do."

Pyro watched Starlight weave her way through the crowd until he could no longer make out her form before turning back to Remy.

"This is too weird mate. I don't think there's enough booze in tha world ta make this feel right."

Remy wordlessly agreed with Pyro as he watched 'Cherry' lean back against the pole, gripping it with her hands above her head as she slowly slid down, biting her lower lip with her eyes closed. He could only hope that he wasn't gawping, but  
at this point he was sure the others would _not_ be looking at him.

"You said she was your client." Logan's gruff voice brought Remy back to reality and he quickly turned his attention back to the issue at hand. "What do you do?"

Jamie uttered a small laugh and rolled his eyes. "C'mon... you know what I do..." They all stared at him expectantly causing him to furrow his brow. "You guys are sounding more and more like cops to me..."

Pyro groaned and shook his head as he eagerly sucked his mojito down. "Crikey. I can't stop lookin'."

Remy looked back at the stage, watching as she tore her shirt off to the beat of the music revealing a glittery white bra. She tossed the shirt off to the side as she stomped forward on her platform heels, hopping up on the pole and spinning  
down it with ease.

"We're just tryin' to figure out what's goin' on." Remy said with a frown.

Jamie nodded towards the stage. "And what do you need to talk to her about?"

Remy's eyes darted back towards the stage as 'Cherry' ran a hand through her hair, her fingers disappearing in a mess of white and auburn waves.

"Oh... lots."

The song came to an end and the DJ announced the next 'performer'.

Jamie looked at Remy and shook his head. "If it wasn't for you and your... you know..." He pointed to his own blue eyes silently, "I'd think you three were settin' me up."

"Look, I don't care what kinda crap you're into." Pyro leaned forward as he spoke, a crease forming between his brow. "I just wanna go home. This is like a bad episode of the Twilight Zone."

Jamie's face screwed up and he shook his head quickly. "Of what?"

"Well gentlemen, this is your lucky night." Starlight placed a hand on the back of the booth behind Pyro.

"Hardly." Logan grumbled.

"Cherry's agreed to let you visit. I told her you three were harmless, you better not make me look bad." She gave them a warning look before gracefully gesturing towards a beaded curtain off to the side. "That's the VIP entrance there,  
Security is expecting you. Cherry's in the second room on the left."

Without missing a beat, Jamie stood and slid out of the booth. "I know the way."

"VIP entrance?" Pyro knit his brow and leaned in closer to Remy as they walked so his voice could be heard over the lively music. "I've nevah been in the back room before. What really goes on back there?"

Remy shot him a knowing stare from over his shades, causing Pyro's eyebrows to perk up with a grin.

"Yeah?"

They pushed through the beaded curtain and passed the Bouncer whose eyes followed them with an intimidating glare.

The men followed Starlight's instructions, stopping at the second door on the left. Jamie knocked on the closed door, twisting the knob when she hollered for them to enter.

Her long legs were stretched out across the black leather couch that ran the length of the wall, and she stood when they entered.

She gave Jamie a smile as she tied up the short kimono robe that hung on her frame, her sparkly bikini peeking out from under the black silky fabric glimmering in all it's white bedazzled glory.

"Showing off for your friends?"

"Looks like you're the one showing off." Jamie winked as the three stepped into the room behind him.

Remy knit his brow, sensing the sudden tension in the room as 'Cherry' eyed them curiously.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" The smile remained on her face as she gave Remy a discreet, cautious once-over.

"These guys say you know them." He eyeballed the tray of strawberries sitting on the vanity. "They seem pretty lost," He scooped up a few of the strawberries and shrugged. "I dunno. Thought maybe you could help." Jamie explained  
quickly, introducing each of them with a jerk of his thumb in their direction before gathering up the strawberry tray and pushing it towards them.

Remy shook his head and smacked Pyro's hand away from the tray before he had a chance to help himself. Logan simply crossed his arms and looked back at Cherry.

Lord only knows where those strawberries have been.

"Can't say I do." She hummed to herself as she checked Logan out with a growing smirk. "I'd remember you..."

Pyro turned to give Remy a look of horror as their fears had been confirmed. She didn't know them either.

The horrified look may also have had something to do with the way she was leering at Logan.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Logan closed his eyes and shook his head, attempting to calm his growing rage. "I swear to _**God **_Pyro, when we get back, I'm gunna gut you myself."

"Look, you may not know us, but we know you. Your name's Anna, an' you go by _Rogue. _'Least y'did back when everything made sense." Remy interjected before Pyro could complain about Logan's threat.

"My name's not Anna. It's Marie." She lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow and shook her head. "But Rogue... hmmm... I like that!" She looked over to Jamie. "I wonder if it's too late to change my stage name."

"Your regulars would probably get confused." He shook his head matter-of-factly and she nodded, seeming to agree with his reasoning.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Logan repeated, clearly becoming increasingly more agitated with the situation.

"Okay." Marie held up a hand as she spoke. "Start from the beginning. What happened?"

"Well..." Pyro sucked in a deep breath. "We were playin' poker, an' I'd been playin' with the stupid time machine deal-y, an' then suddenly it sprung ta life! I set it for five years... an' now we're here... with you..." He let his eyes slowly scan  
down her body, gaining him a smack upside the head from Logan.

All the tension in her stance dissipated and her face visibly relaxed as she laughed. "You're leapers!" She nodded at Jamie who also found this explanation very reassuring.

"Woah woah... we are not lepers." Pyro scoffed. "Do I look like I have leprosy?"

Marie leaned forward slightly and raised her voice a notch. "_Leapers_."

"Leapers?" Logan crossed his arms and knit his brow. "What the hell's that?"

"That machine you mentioned doesn't just take you through time. It takes you to different parallel universes too." She put a hand on her hip as she spoke, waving the other to accentuate her point. "Dimension leapers. Or just... _Leapers_."

Pyro let out a small sob and shook his head. "Oh thank God! How da we get home?"

Marie chuckled and crossed her arms. "The same way you got here. Hop in the machine and hit the red button."

"Red means stop!" Pyro threw his hands in the air with an exasperated sigh. "Everyone knows that!"

"What if d'machine we came in ain't exactly... accessible at d'moment?" Remy frowned at Logan before looking back at the Twilight Zone's version of Rogue. "Is dere another machine we could use?"

"No." She snorted and shook her head as if it was the most preposterous question she'd ever heard. When they all remained still, staring blankly at her, she let out a breath. "Guys, look. It's like a car... you don't take your car out for a drive  
and then expect to come home with a different car."

"We would if a house fell on it." Pyro muttered.

Remy shot out a breath and looked back at Logan. "Dere's gotta be somethin'. Someone dat can fix d'one we came in... some place we can get another one... shit, someone dat can make another one. Anything. We can't be stuck here  
forever."

Jamie suddenly held up a hand, stopping Marie before she had a chance to respond and effectively silencing the whole room. Underneath the deep beat of the bass that shook through the entire building, there was a very distinct, high pitched  
sound that didn't quite belong. He furrowed his brow and cocked his head as he moved towards the door, pulling it open and sticking his head out into the wide hallway.

"Shit!" He looked back at them wide-eyed as he waved frantically. "It's the cops!" He didn't stick around to offer his assistance any longer, slipping out through the door and scrambling to find a way out.

"Cops...?" Pyro eyed Marie tentatively as she hurried past them towards the door. It was then that Remy realized the high-pitched, off beat sounds were screams. She stepped out into the hallway, followed by the three men, only to be  
instantly greeted with the sound of rapid gunfire mixed with blood-curdling screams, all set to the beat of the once entertaining music.

Through the beaded curtain that was now un-manned, Remy spied a gun-toting Scott Summers with a police badge strung around his neck. He pulled his sunglasses off and squinted to get a better look.

"Why are the police shooting at us?" Pyro hollered at Marie with his hands firmly over his ears to block out the horrific sounds around them.

Before she could answer, the curtain exploded in a mess of bullets and iridescent purple beads. Remy cursed, grabbing Marie's bare wrist and throwing her against the wall, using his body as a shield with his eyes squeezed shut until the rain  
of gunfire had passed them by.

He wrenched away from her quickly when he realized he was touching her, furrowing his brow when he realized she was gaping at him.

"Son of a bitch." She gasped, staring at his eyes in both awe and horror. "We gotta get you out of here, _now_."

"Is there another way out?" Logan bellowed. Marie nodded and pointed towards the back of the hall where a handful of dancers and customers were headed. As they started back, Pyro glanced over his shoulder, watching as Starlight raced  
towards them.

"Don't stop!" She shouted, waving her arms as she ran. "They're coming this-" Her sentence stopped dead. Her once vibrant green eyes instantly glazed over and she suddenly fell forward, laying sprawled out on the ground with a nice neat  
hole in her bare back.

Pyro stopped with a shout as he stared at her lifeless body, racing back to kneel by her side and check for a pulse. Blood began to seep out from underneath her and Pyro choked back a sob. He looked up at the officers who rushed towards  
them, most of which were fully suited up in SWAT garb, ignoring Logan's instructions to get in front of him. With wild eyes, he flipped his lighter open and shot a fiery blast towards them, letting the flames fully engulf the mouth of the hallway  
where the beaded curtain had once hung with pride. Logan shielded Marie with his body, turning his back towards the wall of flames as Remy hurried back, slipping his arm underneath Pyro to help him up, and pulling him along towards the others. When they reached the hall where the small group of terrified people trying to escape had congergated, Logan let out a deep sigh.

"Now what?"

"Pad locked!" Marie shouted over the insane noise with her hands firmly in place over her ears as she squinted through the growing fog of black smoke. "Keeps customers from sneaking out without paying!"

"Yeah, well it works." Logan's claws ripped out and he slashed at the chain, slipping through it like a warm knife through butter. The chain and lock fell to the floor and he kicked the door open. The smoke billowed out into the fresh night air  
and the handful of coughing people shoved their way though the opening to their freedom. Marie sucked in a breath of clean oxygen, waving for them to follow her deeper into the alley way. Remy followed with Pyro still under arm, coughing  
as he struggled under his weight and following Marie's silent instructions. She stopped at the corner and peered around, seemingly satisfied with the state of the pedestrians who still littered the sidewalks in what should have been the dead of  
the night. They rounded the corner, continuing down the sidewalk a bit before Marie finally stopped, leaning back against the brick building with a cough.

"Dammit. I left my purse."

* * *

_A/N- Kudos to everyone who figured out the "alternate dimension" thing! Although, it really wasn't difficult to figure out._

_To the anonymous reviewer "Too lazy to log in" - First, I hate logging in too. Second, I agree with you... it was a bit ambitious of me. So I changed the class of the story. It's now SORT OF a Romy/Rogan/Ryro... it's hard to explain... lets just say she has some daddy issues and leave it at that._

_I hope to make the 'rules' of the alternate dimension clear in the next chapter (for the most part) but it is difficult... so bare with me. :)_

_S2T- thank you for letting me kill your alter ego. She will be missed by some. We'll sprinkle baby powder and glitter on her grave._

_Thanks for all the reviews! Keep em comin'! I'm attention starved... :/_


	5. A Helping Hand

**_A Helping Hand_**

"If only they'da shot 'er in the front..." Pyro blubbered as Remy let go of him, letting him drop to the dirty concrete with his back against the brick wall.

"What the hell was that all about?" Logan demanded while Remy pulled his trench coat off and handed it to Marie as she rubbed the silk sleeves of her kimono.

She stood upright and accepted his coat, pulling it on with a shrug directed towards Logan. "Someone must have tipped them off. You don't usually hear of raids like that unless-"

"Raids on what?" Logan hollered causing both John and Remy to flinch.

Marie simply set her jaw and leveled her gaze at him, like a mother giving her child the 'warning look'. "Mutants." She looked back at Remy and John with a frown before turning to continue down the sidewalk, prompting them to follow  
without invitation. "They had somebody in mind. And they don't like it when their plans are foiled."

"I saw this thing on _Mythbusters _once, where some guy shot a stripper in the chest. An' wouldn't ya know it, the little Sheila was saved by her implants." Pyro sniffled, looking over to Remy. "If they'da shot 'er in the chest, maybe she woulda  
been fine. Damn Summers... I know he ain't tha same one we got, but remind me ta beat his ass when we get back home-"

"Wait." Remy fell in step next to Marie with a frown. "We ran into Summers before we went into d'club an' he gave me dis really weird stare."

"Scott Summers?" Marie glanced up at him, tugging the front of the trench coat closed tightly to keep out the breeze. "Were you wearing your sunglasses?"

Remy shook his head silently and Marie pursed her lips.

"You think he was after me?"

"Hard t'say." She slowed to a stop at the entrance of a grand city apartment building and shook her head and looked at Pyro. "But they'll definitely be after _you_ after that grand fireworks display."

Pyro scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fireworks are for babies."

"Well what now? It's bad enough we're trapped here, now d'government is after us?"

"I suppose you three can stay with me tonight." Marie pressed her hand against the glass door and shoved it open with a sigh. "You did sort of save my life."

Logan stepped past her first with a grumble. "As long as you're not expectin' any clients."

"You think I have time to turn tricks on the side, Pops?" She put a hand on her hip and cocked her head in such a way that gave Remy the chills. For a split second, she looked _exactly_like Rogue. He stepped by her followed by Pyro, and the  
three moved through the lobby towards the elevator.

"I'm a stripper, not a hooker." She passed by them, continuing through the lobby to the door marked 'stairs', pushing the door open and waiting for them to follow.

"I didn't realize there was a difference." Logan ground out sarcastically, turning to head towards her.

"Would you hire a Realtor to build you a house?" She fluffed her hair and waved a hand, signalling for them to hurry. "I'm in the business of showing. Not doing."

Pyro shrugged as he passed her. "Makes sense to me."

Marie gave him a smile and he nodded along with his approval of her job summary. Logan and Remy passed through the door and started up the stairs behind Pyro, and Marie took the oportunity to do a final visual sweep of the lobby,  
spinning around quickly and starting up the stairs behind them with her clear platform heels clacking along the way.

"What floor." Logan grumbled as he pulled himself up the first flight of stairs.

"Seventh floor, fifth door on the right."

Both John and Remy groaned, and John stopped mid-step to face Marie. "You gotta be kiddin' me Shiela. Seventh floor?"

"Ahh the cardio'll do ya some good." Logan said as he continued up the second flight, with his amusment evident in his tone.

"Remind me why we didn't take d'elevator?"

"Because I said so!" Marie shouted suddenly, causing all three men to stop dead in their tracks to stare at her. Her voice was still echoing through the vacant stairwell when she regained her composure with a sheepish shrug. "Sorry. Elevators make me nervous. Too much... surprise involved."

They all continued on their way up. Remy looked down at his feet as they quickly ascended the concrete staircase and cleared his throat. "Suprise?" He whispered loud enough for only Logan to hear.

Logan simply shook his head and grumbled "Don't ask anymore questions Gumbo. I think she's kind of a loon."

They finally reached the seventh floor, making their way down the hall that was thick with the aroma of everyone else's dinner, coming to a stop in front of her door.

"Son of a bitch." She muttered with a sigh. "I don't have my key."

Pyro's head dropped back as he groaned dramatically. "You have got ta be joking."

"Well I'm sorry, I didn't plan ahead when I was being shot at and nearly set on fire. How rude of me..."

"I wasn't gunna set _you_ on fire, and besides, my _firewall _is what got us outta that place in one piece!" Pyro suddenly looked over to Remy thoughtfully. "Huh. I wonder if that's where they got the computer term from?"

"Probably." Remy nodded back dryly, turning back to Marie and reaching towards her. "'Scuse d'hands, chere."

"I've heard _that_ before..." She muttered as Remy reached into his coat pocket, searching around for a moment before pulling out a paper clip. He straightened it out quickly, slipping it into the key hole and almost instantly unlocking the door.

Marie reached out and turned the knob, offering Remy an impressed smile when the door pushed open with ease. "Something tells me this isn't the first time you've done that."

"Not exactly."

She stepped inside and led the three to the living room, informing them to make themselves comfortable while she got some blankets. The whole house looked cold and sterile. Strictly a house, not a home. The black tiles that covered the  
entire floor looked nearly new. The bright red sofa, love seat and armchair set and stark white throw pillows looked stiff and unused. And the wall hangings were purely for decoration purposes, not for sentimental reasons, with the exception  
of one wooden shelf at the beginning of the hallway which was lined with a few framed pictures and some knick knacks.

Pyro pointed to one of the pictures of a woman hugging a kitten and elbowed Remy. "Check out the hot blonde." He looked at Marie with a sly grin. "She your girlfriend?"

"She's my roomate." Marie said flatly as she returned with a few fluffy blankets. "Her name's Carol. She works at the all night gym down the road."

"What time's she due back." Pyro eyed the picture as he spoke. "I wouldn't mind meetin' that little Sheila..."

Marie looked over at Logan with a tired frown. "He needs to get laid." She set the warm looking blankets down on the coffee table, picking one off the top and fluffing it out over the sofa. "You guys will have to fight over the sofa. Although  
I'm thinking knuckle knives here will probably win."

"And I'm thinking you're right." Logan picked up the remaining blankets and tossed them to Remy and Pyro with a smirk. "Rock, paper, scissors, guys."

Pyro groaned after Remy called dibs on the love seat, leaving him with the arm chair.

"Of course, there is a way we could solve this problem." Marie smiled and looked at Logan again. "There's plenty of room in my bed, Sugar."

Remy looked from Marie to Logan, giving him a hopeful shrug. Sure it was weird as hell, but at least he'd have a shot at the sofa.

"No." Logan said firmly, looking first at Marie and then at Remy. "We're fine out here."

"Fine." She said with a bored sigh and a roll of her eyes as she peeled the trench coat off her body, draping it over the back of one of the dining room chairs. "Bathroom's at the end of the hall. I'm taking a shower and then going to bed." She  
announced on her way down the hall, muttering about how impossible body glitter was to scrub off before closing the bathroom door behind her.

"I'm so confused that my brain literally hurts." Pyro rubbed his forehead, collapsing into the arm chair limply.

"We'll get some answers tomorrow." Logan grumbled. "For now, just shut up an' go to sleep." He rolled over on the couch and almost instantly fell asleep.

Remy flopped himself down on the love seat, letting his legs hang uncomfortably off the end and tugging the fuzzy blanket up under his chin. The rumbling drone of Logan's steady snore, paired with Pyro's incessant griping about how  
uncomfortable he was, made it next to impossible for him to doze off.

**XXXX**

Far too soon, Logan's snoring was replaced with the savory sound of sizzling bacon. Remy squeezed his eyes shut tighter and sucked in a deep breath, letting the smell take him back to his childhood when he woke up every morning to his Tante Mattie's famous homemade feast. He reluctantly opened his eyes, squinting into the sun that cascaded through the open front window, and slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

He stretched the kinks out of his back and turned around, noticing Marie in the kitchen, her hair pulled up into a pony tail that bounced as she moved across the kitchen in dainty black flats. She wore a light purple button up shirt, which was  
unbuttoned at the top one too many, and tied in a knot at the bottom to show off the skin of her midriff. His eyes wandered to the back of her denim shorts before he realized what he was doing, and he quickly shook himself out of his old  
habit. If Rogue ever caught him doing something like that, she'd knock him senseless.

Remy looked over at Pyro who had finally fallen asleep, draped across the arm chair in a very uncomfortable looking way with his head dropped all the way back, choking on a snore every now and then.

On the other hand, technically... this wasn't Rogue... For starters, she wouldn't have been caught dead showing off so much skin.

He shifted his eyes back towards Marie in the kitchen, appreciating the view of her very long, very bare, tanned legs while she moved about. He stood up and stretched quietly, noting the sound of the running shower and the closed bathroom  
door. Knowing Logan, he'd been up since the crack of dawn in spite of their late night. Remy moved into the kitchen, clearing his throat to gain Marie's attention.

"Need a hand?"

"No thanks. I have two." She gave him a tight smile, turning back to the frying pan as she scrambled up some eggs. "You guys strike me as the big breakfast type. I hope you like scrambled eggs, that's the only way I know how to make  
them."

"Everybody likes scrambled eggs." Remy stood next to her, leaning back on the counter with a smile. "Y'didn't have t'do any of dis for us."

She shruged modistly, moving over to the toaster to empty it's contents. "I don't mind. I never have company."

Remy cocked his head and knit his eyebrows as he watched her. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

She hesitated before giving him a nod.

"Why don't you have an accent?"

Marie stiffened slightly and gave him a half smile, moving over to the cupboard to pull out some plates. "I ditched it when I came here. If you want to survive around these parts, the last thing you want is to stick out like a sore thumb."

Remy smiled, "How old were you?"

"Thirteen."

He stared at her for a moment before frowning. "Alone?"

"My Dad kicked me out."

The sound of Pyro's exaggerated groan cut Remy off from asking any more questions. He stumbled his way into the kitchen, bent over slightly with a hand on his back and a deep set frown. His eyes suddenly widened when he spotted the  
food, and his back miraculously healed as he stood in a full upright position free of pain.

"Would ya look at that." He looked over to Remy with a grin. "Betcha'd never catch Rogue cookin' up breakfast."

"Well," Marie reached over the stove to shut it off, and Pyro's attention was instantly distracted as he cocked his head to take in the view. "She probably just doesn't like you."

"It's true. She doesn't." Remy moved to her side to help her dish out the eggs.

"What? 'Course she does! Tha two of us got what y' call a 'love hate relationship'."

The truth was, if Rogue heard Pyro say they had any type of _relationship,_she'd likely beat him to unconsciousness. Remy simply shook his head and handed Pyro a plate of scrambled eggs.

Marie waved a hand towards the counter, "Help yourself to the bacon and toast. Coffee's on the table."

* * *

_A/N- A slower chapter... think of it as the calm before yet another storm. Or maybe the eye of the storm. Or some other storm type cliche. _

_Please R&R... your reviews are putting my kids through college! This is only half true. The half where I have kids. Kids who are nowhere near the appropriate college age. Also, I don't get paid when you review. Only in love._

_But I like love. I love love. So please, love on me. :)_


	6. Wave Goodbye

_**Wave Goodbye**_

Logan joined them at the table, sitting in the vacant seat next to Marie with his plate full and his hair nearly dry, giving her a frown as she angled all of her eating utensils slightly to the left, so they were facing the North West corner of the house.

"Your loony roommate ain't joinin' us?"

Marie smiled, shifting her chair slightly to match the angle of her breakfast, "No. Carol hates company. She's not overly thrilled that you're here."

"Tell me about it. She let herself into the bathroom while I was takin' a piss, and then started bitchin' at me. Sayin' how I'd better put the seat back down, or she'd break my dick off in my sleep." Logan shook his head and took a bite of bacon. "Geeze."

It took a lot to rattle the Wolverine, and he looked sufficently rattled.

"Ahhh don't listen to her," Marie tossed a hand up in the air flippantly. "She's only ever followed through once."

Pyro and Remy exchanged a mutual glance.

"Alright..." Remy took a bite of toast and leaned back in his chair, "What can you tell us about dis place?"

"Yeah, an' what's up with Summers? He's a friggin' goody two shoes where we come from." Pyro nodded.

"Well, first off, forget everything you think you know about everyone. Nobody here is the same as they are in your world." Her eyes grew serious and she shook her head. "Don't trust  
anyone. Not even yourselves, should you come across them."

"Crikey. Is it really that bad?"

"Yes." Marie took a gulp of coffee and turned her attention to the plate in front of her, picking up a piece of bacon. "People around here will do anything to get what they need." She chomped down on the piece of meat and chewed for a moment, before pointing gesturing towards Logan. "I'll take you three to see my friend about your machine. After that, you're on your own."

"And what if your friend can't help us out?" Logan folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair. "You have any other ideas?"

"We could try t'find Forge. Maybe he's got another one just lyin' around." Remy said with a wry smirk.

"You evah heard of 'im, love?" Pyro plopped his elbow down on the table and propped his chin up on his fist as he munched on a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "He's the bloke who  
invented the contraption in our world."

"Nope, never heard tell of him." Marie shook her head, "But if he's anywhere around here, he's likely living at the Compound."

"Where's that?" Logan grunted, taking a mouthful of steaming hot coffee.

"It's a few hours away, hidden in a forest. It's where mutants go to hide. And that's all I can tell you."

"Why don't you live dere?" Remy asked.

"Oh, I don't like the forrest. I don't trust it."

There was a short silence as the three men processed how one could possibly distrust a group of trees.

"Besides," Marie continued with a shrug. "It's mainly for the ones who are tired of running, or who can't blend into society." She glanced up at Remy, shifting her eyes back to Logan  
quickly. "At least not without some assistance."

Logan knit his brow. "What about Charles Xavier? Have you ever heard of him?"

Marie silently shook her head with a shrug.

Pyro pursed his lips thoughtfully and turned to look at Marie. "What did ya mean by _assistance_?"

Logan's head snapped sideways and he frowned. "What was that noise?"

Remy was about to inform Logan that the last time he heard something weird, they ended up boarding a _dimension leaping machine,_ but before he had the opportunity to make his  
sarcastic remark, the patio window in the living room shattered into a billion pieces, and an ear-splitting explosion sent them all to the ground in search of cover. Flames licked at the once  
pristine living room, engulfing the uncomfortable couches in a matter of seconds.

"What tha hell was that?" Pyro squeaked, a full octave higher than normal, pushing himself to his knees to view the damage.

"Fire bomb." Remy winced at the sound of the screaming fire alarm. "I'd say dere's a chance dey might know we're here."

"How tha hell'd they get it up here? We're seven stories up!"

Logan stood and gestured towards the living room. "C'mon."

"Are you brain damaged? We're not going that way!" Marie informed him, glancing at the growing inferno.

"They're trying to get us out. They want us to go that way." He pointed to the door. "So we're going this way. Now come on."

Pyro calmed the fire enough for them to hurry through comfortably. Remy used his trench coat over his fist to clear the rest of the glass from the patio window and helped Marie out first.

"What about your roommate?" Remy looked back into the apartment.

"Look, if the fire alarm ain't enough to wake her lazy ass up, then that's her problem." Marie peered over the edge of the wrought iron banister and ducked back. "Now what?"

Logan followed Pyro out onto the fire escape and checked the ladder. "We go up."

"Up?" Pyro squeaked again. "Don't you watch horror movies at all? Y'nevah go up! Y'go up, an' you're as good as dead!"

"We're already as good as dead." Remy motioned for Marie to go first, the three of them following hot on her heels. They climbed up four more flights before Logan cupped his hands and  
looked in through a patio window.

"There's nobody in here..." He looked over to Remy.

Remy tried the door, giving Logan a silent nod when it slid open with ease. People on the top floor tend to be more trusting, no matter what universe you were in.

They tip toed into the empty apartment, and Pyro maneuvered towards the door, peering out carefully. "All clear."

One by one, they filed into the hallway. Logan started down the hall as quietly as he could manage, motioning for the others to follow.

Marie scurried up next to Logan and put a hand on his arm. "Where are we going?"

"I saw a service elevator on our way in last night. If we're lucky it'll lead to the basement, and we can find a way out."

She suddenly stopped dead, biting her lips together until they turned white.

Logan frowned, stopping to look back at her. "What's yer problem?"

"Shhh!" Pyro instructed frantically, holding his hands up and suddenly standing very still. "I hear somethin'."

"They're in the stairwell." Logan growled. He snatched Marie's hand and pulled her the rest of the way to the elevator, punching the button as he looked back to Remy and Pyro.

"Dey almost here." Remy whispered, coming to a stop in front of the elevator.

"Come on!" Pyro jabbed the button a dozen more times with a frustrated grunt.

"Dat ain't doin' anything!" Remy hissed. "You're gunna break-"

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, and Pyro shot Remy a smug smile.

Logan, Pyro and Remy all clamored onto the elevator, waving for Marie to hurry up.

"C'mon Shiela, they're comin'!"

She glanced down the hall nervously. "I don't... I don't _do_ elevators."

"Do you do dead?" Remy frowned. "'Cause chances are dat's what you'll be real soon."

She gritted her teeth together and anxiously shook her head, giving one last fleeting look down the hall before squeezing her eyes shut and stepping onto the elevator.

Logan punched the button to shut the doors and then hit the big _B_.

"See that doll? This ain't so bad."

Marie kept her eyes squeezed shut, and had begun to mutter to herself as she attempted to even out her breathing.

Remy gave Logan a look that conveyed something along the lines of; We're screwed.

The doors slid open, and Marie shoved her way out, ignoring the impending danger that possibly lurked on the other side.

She sucked in a deep breath and shook her hands frantically, shooting a glance towards the three men as they watched her from inside the elevator.

"I can't breathe!" She clutched her throat and sucked in a few shaky breaths, proving that she was obviously able to breathe and simply over reacting. Once she realized that they were silently staring at her as if she'd just sprouted another head, she scrubbed her arms and jerked her head to the side, silently telling them to follow her. "There's a back door over here."

They walked through the dingy basement, navigating the dark halls in total awkward silence for a few minutes before Pyro cleared his throat.

"So... y'claustrophobic?"

"No." Marie snapped. "Not exactly."

They continued on their way, exiting the apartment out the back door and managing to remain unseen as they put as much distance between themselves and the infested building as  
possible.

Even in the daytime, the streets of this Bayville looked bad. It made the bad part of New Orleans look like Christmas at Disney World. People who'd passed out the night before peppered  
the alleyways and sidewalks and appeared to look more like zombies than actual living human beings. Remy made a mental note to check with Marie that zombies weren't actually real  
here. Like they didn't have enough on their plates, the last thing they needed was to worry about something eating their brains.

"How did they find us?" Logan asked, once they were a few blocks away from the infested building. "You don't think it was your crazy roommate, do you?"

"No, Carol's not that smart." Marie frowned as she power walked down the street. She pressed her lips together in thought for a moment, knitting her brow tightly before giving her head a shake. "But someone I know is a backstabbing little weasel."

Pyro grunted, "Any ideas as ta who that'd be?"

"I can think of a few."

"Who the hell are they, and why are they chasing us?" Logan barked.

"I can't tell you that." Marie's eyes anxiously scanned the horizon as she walked. "Not here."

Remy frowned. "Then where?"

"I'll take you to talk to my friend about your broken machine. We'll be safe to talk there."

She forged ahead of them down the sidewalk, remaining silent the rest of the trip until they arrived at a dinky looking coffee shop. It looked like a place that would be known as 'a dive'; the white paint had faded and begun to peel off the exterior of the building, and the third window from the door was boarded up with a slab of ply wood. If the health inspector existed in this dimension, chances were good that he'd shut it down in a heart beat. There had to be some type of rodent or insect colony that had taken up permanent residence in the diners kitchen. Remy would have easily put all his money on that bet.

Marie shoved the door open and stepped inside, the sound of her shoes sticking to the floor caused Remy to cringe. Her eyes scanned the diner , giving each of its three, dopey looking  
patrons a quick mental assessment before obviously deeming them harmless and moving towards the booth in the back corner. She sat down on the soft red seat of the booth and slid all the way over to the window, making room for whomever was lucky enough to get their first and scoot in next to her.

Pyro filled that seat, leaving Remy sandwiched between the wall and Logan's shoulder.

"Are we safe now?" Logan rested an arm on the linoleum table and Marie nodded.

"As safe as possible." She informed him as she re-arranged the table condiments so the labels were facing North West. She struggled with the napkin dispenser, clearly having trouble  
deciding which side was considered the front. She turned the shiny side North West and looked up at Logan. "There are three general groups of people, the way I see it; The  
Government, the criminals, and everybody else. The Government wants total control and wants to see all mutants dead, even though it's a known fact that many of them are mutants  
themselves. The criminals want total control and will kill _anyone_, so long as it serves their purpose. And everyone else is basically caught in the cross fire. Based on experience, I'm going  
to say the people after you are the Government. Whenever an _obvious_ mutant surfaces, they like to make an example of him." She glanced down at the napkin dispenser and turned the  
napkin side North West. "And you guys probably really pissed them off last night."

"So, let me get this straight. Summers is a mutant, working for the Government, who is out to kill all mutants?" Remy knit his brow and gave his head a shake. "How is that possible? He's  
definitely an obvious mutant."

"Well, he's clearly a customer." Marie folded her hands on the table. She let out a breath and raised an eyebrow at their blank faces. "He takes _C.E_."

"What tha hell is that?" Pyro shrugged, "Some kinda drug?"

"Didn't Jamie tell you what he dealt last night?" She knit her brow, looking from face to face before letting out a breath. "I suppose he would have assumed you already knew. C.E is the  
street name for the most popular, non-hallucinogenic drug on earth. Otherwise known as, The Cure."

"Crikey!" Pyro pressed his back into the chair and shook his head, "I guess that'd explain his normal eyes then."

An awkward silence hung in the air as they all processed that bit of information. It also explained how Marie was able to touch. Jamie had told them last night that she was one of his  
customers, and it suddenly made perfect sense.

Remy was about to ask more about C.E when a waitress came to a stop next to their table. She uttered a tired sigh and slipped a pencil out of her apron, "Welcome to Mel's, home of the  
Mega Watt chicken wing." She droned, searching for her note pad in the apron pocket. With her search proving to be unsuccessful, she tucked the pencil back in and gave her eyes a roll.

"What can I get you guys?"

She had bags under her blue eyes and her brown hair sprung out in every direction in spite of the neat pony tail at the back of her head. She looked tired, over worked and under-paid, and the name tag on the collar of her pale yellow uniform read "Katherine".

* * *

_A/N- Hope it's not too confusing! Thanks for the reviews :) _

_Merry Christmas!_

_PS I know a good Christmas gift you guys could give to me... more reviews! HUZZAH! _


	7. Fingers in the Till

**_Fingers in the Till_**

Marie offered her a friendly finger wave, prompting _Katherine's_ eyes to widen in recognition. "Hey, I didn't even see you there." She made a tiny smile and gave her head a bump with the heel of her hand.  
"I'm about halfway through a double, and I'm pretty sure I'm just sleep walking at this point."

"Guys, this is Kitty. She's the girl I was talking about."

Logan looked back at Marie with a perked up eyebrow. "The one who can fix the machine?"

"Yeah."

Pyro sighed. "We're screwed."

"Kitty." Remy furrowed his brow, still staring at the worn out, dull-looking version of Katherine Pryde. She put a hand on her hip and flicked her name tag.

"Yeah, that's what they call me." She glanced down at the name tag with a sigh. "I didn't think it was wise to put a name that could be connected to a vulgar use of a word for the female annatomy when  
I'm working the night shift."

"That's probably a good idea." Pyro nodded.

Kitty pulled a chair away from the table behind her and spun it around, taking a seat at the head of the table. "So what's this about a machine?"

"A Jumper."

Her eyebrows perked up and she leaned forward slightly. "Seriously?" She looked at the three men, letting her eyes linger on Gambit. "I guess that makes sense."

"You were the only one I could think of with any kind of mechanical experience." Marie shrugged. "Computers are mechanical, right?"

"Kind of. It depends on where the problem is on the Jumper. Is it like, a structural issue, or an internal issue?"

"Most likely both." Logan informed her, clearly getting a kick out of this watered down Kitty, "A house fell on it."

"A friggin' mansion." Pyro elaborated, "Bloody thing almost came down on _us_ too!"

"Wait, a mansion?" Kitty looked over to Marie, "You mean like, the one nobody talks about?"

Marie's eyes flick across the table to Logan and Remy and a frown creases her brow. "You guys never said anything about a mansion."

"Well yeah, that's where we live." Pyro shrugged, idly spinning his fork in circles as he spoke. "Someone burned it all up 'ere though."

"I'd love to help you guys, but there's no way in heck I'd be caught rummaging around that place." Kitty leaned back in her chair and shook her head. "You might as well just put a giant stamp on your  
forehead that says _MUTANT_." She mimed the stamping motion against her forehead and then sighed, yet again. "And I don't think it'd be wise for you three to be seen around there either. Just an idea."

Remy looked at Pyro and folded his hands on the table. "You ruin everything. Dis is why we can't have nice things."

"Please tell me you have another idea, Sheila." Pyro knit his eyebrows, focusing his attention on the fork he was spinning around in circles on the table.

"What about the Compound? Maybe someone around there could help them." Kitty offered with a hopeful attempted smile.

"They'll never find it on their own." Marie worked the muscles in her jaw, frowning at Kitty. "Could you take them?"

She uttered an unattractive snort. "Are you serious? I can't even find time to take my own kid on field trips, I don't have time to schlep these ones around."

"You have a kid?" Pyro pulled his attention away from the spinning fork to gawp at Kitty.

"Why else would I work here? Because the pay is great?" She snorted again with a quick shake of her head. "Hardly. My good-for-nothing ex sits on his lazy ass all day playing video games and I have to  
work like a fiend to put some food on the table for our son-"

She stopped short and her eyes lit up, looking over to Marie. "_You _can take them."

"What?" Marie scoffed, her eyes shifting from the two men across from her, over to Pyro and then to Kitty. "No." She looked down at the spinning fork uncomfortably before looking back up at Kitty. "No. I  
can't. I have... things..."

"Y'don't have a job." Remy stated, leaning back in the booth with a grin. "Not anymore."

"Thank you-" Marie narrowed her eyes at Remy. Her hand reached out quickly, snatching the spinning fork away from Pyro. "-for reminding me. I almost forgot." She looked back at Kitty and shook her  
head again, setting the fork down on the table next to her own, prong end facing North West. "We don't have a vehicle. There's no way we could walk out there-"

Kitty held up a hand and smiled, the twinkle in her eye suddenly making her look more like the Kitty they were used to. "That's the best part. Since my ex hasn't been giving me any cash, I kind of swiped  
his ride." She giggled, pulling a set of keys out from the front pocket of her apron and setting them down on the table. "It's a piece of crap Jeep, but it'll get you guys where you need to go."

"What about money? And... other supplies?" Marie's eyebrows shot up as if to silently get her message across.

Kitty seemed to understand and she nodded, "Don't worry about money. Nobody will notice if I skim a bit off the top..." She jerked her thumb back towards the till and leaned forward, "And as for your  
other requirements... I got you covered."

Kitty got up and shuffled her way behind the counter, disappearing into the kitchen. When she returned, she had a brown paper bag in hand and a single key on a keyring.

"There are some sunglasses in the glove compartment." She looked at Remy and shrugged awkwardly. "Just sayin'."

The quartet followed Kitty around back to admire their new ride.

She was right, it was a piece of crap. But it would get the job done in a pinch. And they certainly were in a pinch.

"I gotta get back inside before the cockroaches start running around on the food in the kitchen again." Kitty jerked her thumb back towards the building and gave them a lame attempt at a smile. "Good luck."

Remy grimaced and was inwardly grateful that he hadn't consumed anything from the diner.

"I'll pay you back." Marie called after her and Kitty gave her a single, knowing nod.

"Alright, let's get goin' kid." Logan held out his hand and eyed the jeep cautiously, making sure it wasn't boobie trapped in any way. And also probably trying to assess if it would actually run. Marie placed her hand in Logan's and winked.

"Don't call me kid, baby."

Logan ripped his hand away and glowered at her, "The keys! Gimme the keys!"

"No way! I'm driving! I have to drive." She informed him with a frown as she moved towards the drivers side door.

"Like hell you do! Gimme the keys and tell me where to go."

"Oh, I'll tell you where to go alright..."

Remy let out a ragged sigh and plucked the keys from Marie's hand, before tossing them to Logan. "He's gunna get his own way eventually chere."

"No!" She cried, a little bit too dramatically, prompting the three men to stop and look at her. She looked like someone had just threatened to shoot her puppy. "I have to drive. I _have_ to. I... have to."

Logan exchanged a look with Remy before handing Marie back the keys. "This better not be some feminist bull shit."

She looked relieved, graciously taking the keys with a sigh, "I don't know what that is."

"They don't have feminist here? Shit." Logan moved around to the passenger side. "Maybe it ain't so bad here after all."

**_XXXX_**

They'd been driving for a solid hour, in blissful silence. Even John was silent, after his initial comments on the smell of the interior and his thoughts about being in the back seat. Now he was staring out the window at the foreign scenery as it passed by. Remy wasn't going to complain. It took a lot to make Pyro shut up.

Oddly enough, it was Logan who broke the silence.

"So what's the deal with you an' driving?"

"There is no deal. I like driving." She said, keeping her eyes glued to the road. It was apparent to all of them that this was a lie.

"Just like how you don't like elevators?"

Her eyes cut to Logan and she frowned, "What's it to ya?"

"Well, we're gunna be stuck together for a while. It'd be nice to know if we're travelling with a loon."

She looked back at the road and pressed her lips in a thin line. "It's a tick."

Logan apparently took that as a sufficient enough answer. He crossed his arms and turned to look out the window. Then Pyro leaned forward, resting his arms on the backs of their seats and frowned.

"Y'know what I'm confused about, Sheila?"

There was a multitude of ways the Rogue that Remy was used to would answer that question. Marie simply looked up at Pyro in the rear view mirror and waited for him to continue.

"If ya took that C.E. already, why do ya need more of it?" He thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I mean, that's what lil'Kitty gave you in that bag, right? An' that's what Jamie was dealin'... so how'd he get repeat business."

"It's not permanent. It wears off after a day and a half, two if you're lucky." She let out a very unamused laugh and shook her head. "Lucky."

"Geeze, dat sounds like pretty good business for Jamie." Remy chimed in. Marie glanced at him in the mirror before nodding.

"Mostly for Jamie's boss."

"An' who would that be?" Logan shifted in the passenger seat, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Marie's lips formed a tight line and she didn't say a word for a good 20 seconds. "Six years ago, a mutant doctor developed a _cure_ that would neutralize the mutant gene. He was hired by the government to produce the new drug on a mass scale, and prepaire it to be administered -by will- to assist ailing mutants who desired a more normal lifestyle. But no matter how hard the doctor tried, he couldn't stabalize the drug for any longer than a few days. The government...disposed... of the doctor and his formula, denying any involvement with the research. Then they took a firmly anti-mutant stand... I guess they decided if we can't join them, they'd beat us. This is when the mutant revolt started and our world went to hell in a handbasket.

"Little did they know, the good doctor was a little bit... shady. And he'd sold his formula to a compilation of equally shady mutants before his untimely demise. The group began to produce the cure and sell it on the black market so that mutants could live with the so-called regular folk, for a price of course. The group was known as The Body. Three people had the original formula. Only one of them is left. He is known only as "The Hand". That's it. He's never seen in public. Nobody's even sure who he is. Nobody's even sure he's a _he_. Jamie's boss, is one of The Hand's underlings. The Body is in control every ounce of C.E. in America. Maybe even more. The Hand is the most powerful and wanted person in... anywhere. You do not wanna piss him off."

"Crikey." Pyro sat back in his seat. "Why are you tellin' us all a'this?"

"Well for one," She looked at Pyro in the mirror once again. She smiled and shook her head. "You just burned down his club."

Pyro gulped audibly.

"And I figured it wouldn't be fair to keep you in the dark, especially if there's a hit out on you guys."

"Ah christ." Logan grumbled. "Way t'go firebug."

"An' dis is why we can't take you anywhere."

* * *

_A/N- Yesh, it's been a while. But I'm too stubborn to leave things unfinished... I've just been busy._

_You can blame Kitty for that. She asked me for help writing her blog. *dramatic eye roll*_

_Please please please review! It gives me the will to carry on! :D_


	8. Hand to Mouth

**_Hand to Mouth_**

It was well into the afternoon by the time Marie pulled the Jeep onto the shoulder of the road.

"We're here?" Pyro glanced around at the their tree lined surroundings and furrowed his brow. "Where is it? Crikey, you ain't lyin' about this place, are ya? You didn't bring us out here t'rape an' kill us... did ya?"

Marie unbuckled her seat belt and opened the Jeep door with a grinding creek. "I gotta breathe."

Logan cut his eyes to Remy, and then both sets of eyes found Marie, doubled over in the middle of the deserted gravel road with her hands on her sides.

Remy rolled the window down and watched her for a moment, before deciding he was brave enough to ask. "What the hell?"

Marie simply groaned and stood upright. She looked anxious. She looked afraid... she looked crazy. "I can't breathe!"

"You got asthma?" Pyro unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the jeep, going around back to meet her in the middle of the street.

"No." She gulped in a breath of dusty air and shook her head. "Anxiety." She breathed again. "Attack."

"Shit." Logan and Remy got out of the jeep and stood at the side of the road, watching as she attempted to regain control of herself while Pyro awkwardly tried to comfort her without touching her.

"Alright Sheila, just breathe."

"I'm trying!" She snapped.

"I can hear her heart beating from over here." Logan grunted. "She's spazzing out like she did in the elevator."

"What is it?" Remy took a few steps toward her and frowned. "Is it the Jeep? Are you claustrophobic?"

She shook her head and flung her hand toward the dense tree line. "Forest." She said between gasps.

"Where? I can't see the forest through the trees." Pyro snort laughed and slapped his knee. His laughter was cut short when Logan glared at him. He moved over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. It was then that Remy noticed she was shaking like a leaf. He opened the driver side door and joined Logan at her side, jerking his head towards the parked Jeep.

"Come on darlin'." Logan and Remy guided her to the drivers seat, helping her sit down with her feet dangling out the side of the vehicle. Once she was seated, Logan placed a hand on the open door and cocked his head. "I guess she wasn't kiddin' when she said she didn't trust the forest."

Pyro knelt down in the gravel in front of her and instructed her to slow her breathing, directing her as if he were coaching a woman in labour.

"Is this another tick you got?" Logan asked, once her breathing had settled and her shoulders had relaxed.

"Yes."

She didn't say anything else. She simply clenched her jaw and swung her legs back into the jeep, cranking the engine over and pulling her door shut, waiting silently for the others to join her.

"I don't think she should be drivin'." Pyro said cautiously, glancing over to Logan who rubbed his forehead with limited patience.

"What am I gunna do, drag her out of the drivers seat and toss her in the trunk?"

"Well that wouldn't work." Pyro said with a tiny shrug, "I don't think Jeeps have trunks."

xxxx

Their drive continued for another hour, and it was the sound of the engine shutting off that roused Remy from his cat nap. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, looking out his window to try to get some bearings. The sun had sunk past the treeline, casting long shadows onto the grass of the clearing where the Jeep had stopped. He could see a small grouping of crudely made houses, beyond the houses were trees. Everywhere.

Marie was serious when she said this place was _in_ the forest.

"You alright?" Logan asked courteously and she gave him a sharp nod. It was pretty apparent that she was just barely_ alright_. "You'll be fine." And then he pushed his door open and stepped out onto the grass.

Remy and Pyro followed suit, climbing out of the crappy Jeep and closing their doors behind them, leaving Marie in the drivers seat, gripping the wheel like her life depended on it while she muttered to herself indiscriminately.

From the view outside of the Jeep, Remy could see the clearing was slightly larger than he first assessed. But if he were being honest with himself, this place gave him the creeps. It looked like the town from _The Village,_ and he half expected that the people living in those houses were some type of Hobbit.

When the first few mutants cautiously approached to greet them, he was disappointed to see that they weren't Hobbits. And he also noticed that they weren't wielding weapons, which likely meant that they'd passed some type of security checkpoint while he was snoozing.

He felt Marie come to a stop at his side and inwardly hoped she could keep it together. To his surprise, she stepped forward and greeted one of the approaching mutants.

"Callisto, these are some... uh," She looked back at the three of them while she contemplated her wording, "Friends of mine, I guess." She turned back to Callisto and smiled. "We could use some assistance."

"I'm not sure how much we'll be able to help..." The woman that Remy recognized as the leader of the Morlocks in his time, locked eyes with him and sighed. It was a sympathy sigh; She felt bad for him. "But we'll do our best."

"We can discuss the details later." A man that Remy didn't know stepped forward and gestured towards one of the houses. "We should get you four settled in before dinner. You look like you've all had a taxing day."

That was a polite way of saying: _You guys look like shit_.

"Thank you." Logan said politely, "We appreciate any help we can get."

The unknown man with the glimmering left eye motioned for them to follow him, introducing himself as Erg. He brought them to one of the houses and led them inside the small building, stopping to introduce them to a woman known as Storm.

She smiled warmly at them, the way one would when first meeting someone new, and greeted them each individually.

"We don't have much space on short notice." Storm explained to Logan, who looked unamused with a different version of yet another friend. "It has been quite hectic here these past few months, and we have found ourselves scrambling to make more room." She gave them all the friendly smile again and Remy scanned the room.

Nothing fancy by any means. The building was more tall than it was wide, and Remy assumed this was to enable them to pack as many houses onto the land as they could. The bottom floor held no bathroom, no and kitchen. Just a small living room with a few rough looking chairs that belonged in a cottage somewhere with some hardworking dwarfs, and a staircase. One could only hope the indoor plumbing was located upstairs, but Remy wasn't putting his money on it.

Storm moved to the stairs and gestured for them to follow her.

She spoke with Logan while walking up the first set of stairs to the second floor, stopping at the top and fluidly waving her hand out to the room as if she were a real estate agent, showing off a beautiful home. Instead, they were looking at a nearly bare room; Two single beds each covered in an old looking quilt, a nightstand between the two beds with nothing on top, a dresser against the side wall under the window, and another one of those cute little mini chairs by the next staircase leading to the top floor. Storm took them up the stairs by the mini chair and showed off the last room. One double bed, one empty dresser, one mini chair.

"If you should need anything, I am in the home next to you." She pointed to the right and smiled. "I will leave you to get settled in for now. Dinner is at five. I will see you there." She gave the four a nod before heading back down the stairs.

They were all silent. They were all likely thinking the same thing too:

Three damn beds. The wooden floors hardly looked sanitary enough to sleep on, there didn't seem to be any trace of cots or couches, unless you wanted to line up all the mini chairs and attempt to sleep like that.

"No TV. Bummer." Marie said as she moved towards the window, fingering the dusty looking orange drapes.

Considering they had no electricity and no indoor plumbing, Remy assumed Marie was making a joke.

Nobody laughed.

"Jesus, what time is it? I'm starving." Logan grumbled, turning back to the stairs and starting to trudge down them. "And there's no way in hell I'm sharin' a bed."

"None of us want t'share a bed." Remy informed him.

"Speak for yourself." Marie said with a wink as she moved across the room to follow Logan back downstairs. "I'm stuck with you guys, I might as well have some fun."

xxx

Dinner was promptly at five, in the "Community Centre" building. It looked like something you would use to stick newspaper to chicken wire, and it smelled like something you'd use to fuel a jet engine.

"I don't understand." Pyro lowered his voice so only the four at his table could hear. "Is it really that bad in the real world that they'd rather hole up here an' eat snot?"

Marie leveled her gaze and nodded, "For some." She glanced around the room and pointed someone out. "Fur ball over there, for one. Even if he wanted to take C.E, it doesn't erase physical mutations as extreme as his."

They all followed her eyes to Kurt, sitting with a young woman with pink hair and shards of bone sticking out of her body.

"What about me?" Remy looked back at Marie, "Would it change my physical mutation?"

She looked up at him, and then looked back down at her bowl of mush and nodded, "Yes."

"So den... I'd be able to just blend in." Remy mused to himself.

Marie uttered an irritated huff, "_Yes_."

Before he could explore the thought any more, an uninvited guest with a bouncy pony tail joined them at their table, sitting down next to Marie whose mood had taken a turn for the worse.

Remy could have sworn he was looking at Rogue when she scowled to herself that way.

"Hi." The girl said with a big grin and a bowl full of gruel. "My name's Jubilee. I noticed you guys were sitting over here all alone and thought maybe you'd like some company."

"Is there more than one of us here?" Marie looked over at Jubilee.

Jubilee looked at the men and nodded her head with an uncomfortable chuckle, "Yes-"

"Then we're not alone. Are we?"

The alternate version of Jubilee stumbled over her words in an attempt to apologize, until Logan cut in. "Don't be rude." He frowned at Marie. "We're guests here, an' she's just tryin' to be nice. Ain't that right?"

Jubilee stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"Good." Logan gave Jubilee a tiny smile and introduced himself, Remy and Pyro. She politely asked how everyone was enjoying their time here at the Compound and informed them that if there was anything they needed, they need only ask. Then she stared at Remy as he pushed the gruel around in the plastic bowl as if stirring it would make it magically turn into a Big Mac. When you live on the streets, you get used to being grateful for your food; shitty or not. But he'd done his time, and had no intention of eating the former of the two unless he was desperate. When he felt that he was being watched, he looked up at Jubilee and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude." She looked away and blushed and then sheepishly cut her eyes back to him. "You look terribly familiar."

"I don't think we've met." He gave her a charming grin, "I'd remember a pretty face like dat."

Jubilee furrowed her brow in thought and _hummed,_ obviously too focused on her own thoughts to notice his charm.

"Do you eat this stuff every day?" Pyro asked, breaking Jubilee's train of thought and causing the grin to return to her lips.

"Oh no." She shook her head, and her pony tail swung along with the action. "Only one week a month."

Pyro scrunched up his nose and cast his eyes back down to the grey goop.

"So why are you here?" Logan bluntly asked. "I mean... you look normal."

Jubilee's smile didn't falter as she looked over to Logan. "_Normal._"

"Well, you know what I mean." Logan waved a hand in the air.

"I'm here because I've been hunted for not being... _normal_. And I don't think I should have to take an illegal substance in order to pretend to be accepted." Jubilee looked back to Remy. "Stay strong. Don't believe the lies people tell you about blending in. C.E. is for the weak."

"Oh yeah." Marie mumbled. "It's horrible stuff."

"It is." Jubilee's back straightened and she gave the men across from her a firm nod. "Just like any other drug, it's terribly addictive. It messes you up."

"You know this first hand, bubblegum?" Marie put her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her fist, looking over at Jubilee with raised eyebrows.

"No, but I've heard from people who-"

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it."

Jubilee and Marie stared at one another until Jubilee sat back in her chair and looked back between Pyro and Logan. "Are you two under the influence as well, or do you just enjoy her company?"

"Listen princess, nobody asked you for your opinions. Last time I checked, all mutants were welcome here. Clean or not. So keep your little convictions to yourself." Marie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, silently daring the younger girl to challenge her. Instead Jubilee stood up and let out a flustered breath.

"It was very nice to meet you." She said to the three men, casting one last glance down at Marie before taking off in the direction she'd come from in the first place.

They were all silent, all staring at Marie, who took a tentative bite of her warm goop before looking up at them and shaking her head. "I fuckin' hate it here."

* * *

_A/N - Woops! Bit of language there. Cover your virgin ears (Or eyes I guess...)! Anyway, we got to meet 2 (3 if you count seeing one) more X-men! And we got to witness another Marie spaz attack! Thoughts? Likes/dislikes? Leave a review! :) I totes plan on updating this store much more regularily than I have been... but it makes it so much easier to do when I get wonderful reviews. _

_(Happy Easter!)_


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